This invention relates to the manufacture of metal cards having varied coloring and texture. In particular, the present invention relates to apparatus and methods for producing transactional and ID cards, or any like document, having a metal layer where the card can be made to have a variety of colors and textures. This invention also relates to cards having a core layer of ceramic material and to metal cards with decorative ceramic layers.
It has become desirable to provide metal or ceramic cards for the high end market to impart a sense of wealth and distinction to the card holder. It is also desirable to provide metal cards with different colors and textures to further enhance eye and touch appeal and/or provide a degree of personalization.
It is known to use physical vapor deposition (PVD) to color metal transaction cards, but PVD is limited in its color range and is also relatively expensive. PVD is also highly dependent upon the substrate upon which it is being deposited. PVD is a vacuum process with high heat and batch operation that is expensive requiring individual racking and turning of parts for even distribution of color. It also subjects the metal to high temperature which can shrink and warp the metal.
In some metal cards, printed PVC layers or other polymers are used to decorate the outside of cards. The use of these polymeric layers has undesirable traits such as minimum print thickness, loss of weight in the metal card due to polymeric thickness, and challenges of lamination of dissimilar materials. Use of different thicknesses and compounds can also cause the parts to warp or bow due to uneven shrinkage during platen lamination.
It is an object of this invention to overcome these and other problems and to enable the manufacture of metal cards and/or ceramic cards having a wide range of colors and textures.